Thoughts on the Day

• Security Conference: An opportunity to lock yourself into a crowded venue with a couple thousand people with few people skills, no respect for personal space, and a lifetime of being told they are the smartest people in the room.
• Hints to Speakers:  If your presentation amounts to no more than chest beating or a war story, save it.  If you feel the need to spend an hour doing a code review on the buggy software package you wrote for your thesis, I'm not interested.  If you want to demo a new product from your company, but can't explain in a few sentences how it could be used in a real world situation that actually comes from the real world, try again.
• If you're more interested in chatting up one of the young females who attended the conference than demo'ing and discussing your product and services to a guy from a Fortune 500 company, guess who's going to have a bad day when you try to convince my company to buy said product and service?
• Using the Star Trek TNG font in red on a black background for your slides isn't cool, it's annoying.
• When attending a briefing on using the "hacker mindset" in a preparedness / survival situation, don't sit in the back and make snide remarks when the presenter suggests that personal defense should at least be considered.  Especially to the guy carrying two pocket knives and wearing the ball cap from an ammunition dealer.  You know, the one who raised his hand to all of the "does anyone know how to..." or "has anyone ever...." questions.
• Seriously, dressing up like the guy you imagined you looked like in CounterStrike is just sad, especially at a technical conference.  Especially if you volunteer that information.  Especially if you're concealed carrying an airsoft gun.